Emissions From Natural Gas Fracking
A new study by the University of Texas Austin released two days ago is the most comprehensive look at methane emission from natural gas wells drilled using hydraulic fracturing. The study found the methane leaks from wells was less than previous estimates provided by the EPA based on engineering calculations and previous studies based on aircraft flights over drilling sites.
The UT Austin study was the first to actually take measurements from well sites - over 500 sites from May to December of 2012. Most of the funding for the study (90%) was provided by nine drilling companies, but the Environmental Defense Fund, a green advocacy group, cosponsored the study with the drilling companies.
I have yet to actually read the report or any of the other natural gas reports I currently have. These will be the beginning of my education in fracking. The other reports include a study done by Cornell in 2011, which claims natural gas from fracking emits more green house gasses than coal. It will be interesting to compare the findings and research methods used between the UT Austin and Cornell studies.
The third study done by Harvard researches the potential of shale gas and oil to be an enduring supply of energy. It naturally covers the development of the Bakken formation, in the middle of which sits my hometown.
If I really feel ambitious, I will read the EPA progress report on the threat fracking posses to groundwater resources. A draft reports is expected in 2014.
The role that natural gas can play as a cleaner, flexible power supply to compliment renewables may make fracking an essential tool to transition to a cleaner energy supply
Study Links-
UT Austin 2013 Emissions Study
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/09/10/1304880110.abstract
Cornell 2011 Emissions Study
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-011-0061-5
Harvard 2013 Development Study
http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/23191/shale_oil_boom.html
EPA 2012 Groundwater Progress Report
http://www2.epa.gov/hfstudy
The UT Austin study was the first to actually take measurements from well sites - over 500 sites from May to December of 2012. Most of the funding for the study (90%) was provided by nine drilling companies, but the Environmental Defense Fund, a green advocacy group, cosponsored the study with the drilling companies.
I have yet to actually read the report or any of the other natural gas reports I currently have. These will be the beginning of my education in fracking. The other reports include a study done by Cornell in 2011, which claims natural gas from fracking emits more green house gasses than coal. It will be interesting to compare the findings and research methods used between the UT Austin and Cornell studies.
The third study done by Harvard researches the potential of shale gas and oil to be an enduring supply of energy. It naturally covers the development of the Bakken formation, in the middle of which sits my hometown.
If I really feel ambitious, I will read the EPA progress report on the threat fracking posses to groundwater resources. A draft reports is expected in 2014.
The role that natural gas can play as a cleaner, flexible power supply to compliment renewables may make fracking an essential tool to transition to a cleaner energy supply
Study Links-
UT Austin 2013 Emissions Study
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/09/10/1304880110.abstract
Cornell 2011 Emissions Study
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-011-0061-5
Harvard 2013 Development Study
http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/23191/shale_oil_boom.html
EPA 2012 Groundwater Progress Report
http://www2.epa.gov/hfstudy
